Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market illustrates two girls and their encounter with Goblins and their poisonous fruit. Although the girls know how destructive the fruit may be Laura indulges against her sister, Lizzie’s, persistent warning. Eating the fruit proves nothing less than euphoric; however, it takes a negative toll on Laura’s body. Having a parasitic effect, the fruit slowly sucked the life from her. Lizzie then bravely confronts the goblins who press their fruits against her mouth in an attempt to get her to eat them. She escapes unscathed and returns to her sister who kisses the fruit’s juices off of her body, thus restoring her. The poem ends with the sisters proclaiming to their children that sisterly love prevails over all. The
…show more content…
Despite Rossetti’s religious background, she dies alone after two failed marriages. So to say she may despise men isn’t so farfetched especially because Rossetti depicts the only men in her poem as goblins and as “awful kings.” Moreover, because Rossetti’s world of goblins demonizes the paternal branch of humanity, in the goblin universe, there are no men, thus decimating mundane gender roles. As a result, the characters Laura and Lizzie seem to direct their erotic energies towards each other. The idea of erotic energy itself stems from Queer theory, which focuses on erotic energy independent of the restraints of the gender binary. Moreover, queer theorist seek to interpret the language and gender representation within a piece of literature in an attempt to understand a universe that isn’t often obtrusively presented. In Goblin Market, sisterly love is held above all others, and is idealized by Rossetti. The sister’s relationship is very sexual leaning towards incestuous inclinations in the reading. The poem most noticeably paints Lizzie and Laura as sexual beings when they are sleeping together after Laura eats the fruit. The are described as “two pigeons in one nest / Folded in each other’s …show more content…
They represent the animalistic and pervasive side of sexual desire. Additionally, under the lens of Queer Theory, one could argue that the goblins are a manifestation of Laura’s sexual desires and unconventional identity. The girls interactions with the goblins act structurally to present the poems beginning, middle, and end. The goblins’ calls seem haunting and ever present like they are a manifestation of the girls carnal longing. When ever the goblins are around Rossetti’s language becomes more suggestive towards the girls being aroused are sexually frustrated. First in foremost, the poem describes the goblins as, “sounding kind and full of love,” moreover, once realizing this Laura is then tantalized by their image. She is described as being, “like a vessel at the launch / When its last restraint is gone,” ultimately Laura does not have a bad interaction with the goblins. Poets exercise the use of the supernatural in their poems, especially in rigid, narrow-minded societies, as a means of expressing what others might see as repugnant or obscene. Moreover, these poems expressing other-worldly issues are often masks for authentic situations. So, retrospectively, perhaps there are no goblin men. In Rossetti’s reality that condemned sexual exploration, especially masturbation, she uses the goblin’s allegorically throughout the entire piece to represent her fear of her own sexual desires. Rossetti describes majority of the
Despite Rossetti’s religious background, she dies alone after two failed marriages. So to say she may despise men isn’t so farfetched especially because Rossetti depicts the only men in her poem as goblins and as “awful kings.” Moreover, because Rossetti’s world of goblins demonizes the paternal branch of humanity, in the goblin universe, there are no men, thus decimating mundane gender roles. As a result, the characters Laura and Lizzie seem to direct their erotic energies towards each other. The idea of erotic energy itself stems from Queer theory, which focuses on erotic energy independent of the restraints of the gender binary. Moreover, queer theorist seek to interpret the language and gender representation within a piece of literature in an attempt to understand a universe that isn’t often obtrusively presented. In Goblin Market, sisterly love is held above all others, and is idealized by Rossetti. The sister’s relationship is very sexual leaning towards incestuous inclinations in the reading. The poem most noticeably paints Lizzie and Laura as sexual beings when they are sleeping together after Laura eats the fruit. The are described as “two pigeons in one nest / Folded in each other’s …show more content…
They represent the animalistic and pervasive side of sexual desire. Additionally, under the lens of Queer Theory, one could argue that the goblins are a manifestation of Laura’s sexual desires and unconventional identity. The girls interactions with the goblins act structurally to present the poems beginning, middle, and end. The goblins’ calls seem haunting and ever present like they are a manifestation of the girls carnal longing. When ever the goblins are around Rossetti’s language becomes more suggestive towards the girls being aroused are sexually frustrated. First in foremost, the poem describes the goblins as, “sounding kind and full of love,” moreover, once realizing this Laura is then tantalized by their image. She is described as being, “like a vessel at the launch / When its last restraint is gone,” ultimately Laura does not have a bad interaction with the goblins. Poets exercise the use of the supernatural in their poems, especially in rigid, narrow-minded societies, as a means of expressing what others might see as repugnant or obscene. Moreover, these poems expressing other-worldly issues are often masks for authentic situations. So, retrospectively, perhaps there are no goblin men. In Rossetti’s reality that condemned sexual exploration, especially masturbation, she uses the goblin’s allegorically throughout the entire piece to represent her fear of her own sexual desires. Rossetti describes majority of the